Lawmakers weigh ’private option’ amendmentsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are moving forward with an effort to save a compromise Medicaid expansion by barring the state from promoting the expanded coverage or the federal health overhaul. The proposal endorsed by a legislative subcommittee Wednesday is aimed at swaying opponents of the private option that was approved last year as an alternative to expanding Medicaid. Under the private option, Arkansas is using federal Medicaid f...

Searcy voters approves tax hike for city services SEARCY (AP) — Searcy voters have approved a 1 percent sales tax increase to fund a variety of city services, including street and infrastructure improvements and payments into the police and fire retirement system. According to unofficial results, about 64 percent of voters approved the tax increase during a special election Tuesday. The levy will increase the city’s existing 0.5 percent sales tax to 1.5 percent for eight years. The Daily Citi...

Budget chairman warns private option at riskLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A state Senate leader warned colleagues on Tuesday that Arkansas’ compromise Medicaid expansion was at risk, as lawmakers tried to map out a timeline for deciding the future of the health care program. Supporters of the state’s “private option” said they still didn’t have enough votes in the Senate to reauthorize the plan that was approved last year as an alternative to expanding Medicaid’s enrollment under the federal healt...

Shoffner to make Feb. 27 court appearance LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner is to make a Feb. 27 court appearance to answer a new indictment that charges her with improper spending from her campaign account. Shoffner is scheduled for trial next month on charges she accepted cash payments from a broker to whom she steered state investments. On Thursday, prosecutors revealed that Shoffner faces 10 counts of mail fraud, in addition to the earlier charges. She i...

Ex-Ark. treasurer indicted over campaign cash LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted former Treasurer Martha Shoffner, already facing trial next month over accusations she accepted cash payments from a broker to whom she steered investments, on new charges that she spent thousands in campaign funds on personal items. U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer announced that Shoffner was charged in the superseding indictment with 10 counts of mail fraud over allegations she used...

Beebe declares emergency for weather LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Gov. Mike Beebe says damage to private and public property during this week’s winter weather was bad enough to qualify as an emergency. The governor issued a proclamation Thursday suspending some purchasing laws so state agencies can aid local governments impacted by ice and snow that has fallen since the weekend. Arkansas’ governors have power to issue emergency executive orders when warranted. Under Thursday’s proclamation...

Model Arkansas way of expanding Medicaid at risk LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ plan for expanding Medicaid by buying private insurance policies for the poor instead of adding them to the rolls was heralded as a model for convincing more Republican-leaning states to adopt a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. But now, as Republican lawmakers face election season and step up attacks on what they deride as Obamacare, the state that pioneered the private option is on the br...

Panel: Suspend fundraising ban in HouseLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House panel on Thursday recommended allowing representatives to raise campaign funds during this month’s legislative session, expanding on a narrower recommendation last week to just lift the fundraising ban for two members running for Congress. The House Rules Committee voted to suspend a rule that bars members from raising money during the legislative session set to begin Monday, which is expected to focus prim...

States look to rein in government surveillance PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Angry over revelations of National Security Agency surveillance and frustrated with what they consider outdated digital privacy laws, state lawmakers around the nation are proposing bills to curtail the powers of law enforcement to monitor and track citizens. Their efforts in at least 14 states are a direct message to the federal government: If you don’t take action to strengthen privacy, we will. “We need to stand up and...

Search for forestry pilot finds old crash MENA (AP) — Searchers looking for a missing Arkansas Forestry Commission pilot and his aircraft found the wreckage of a decades old plane crash — but no sign of the currently missing pilot and plane. Commission spokeswoman Adriane Barnes said Wednesday that searchers on Rattlesnake Mountain in Polk County found the wreckage of a plane — giving brief hope that missing pilot Jake Harrell and his plane had been found. Barnes says searchers soon l...

Gov. Beebe announces intent to pardon 5LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Gov. Mike Beebe has announced his intent to grant five pardons. Beebe said in a news release Wednesday that each of the five have completed all jail time, fulfilled all parole- and probation requirements and paid all fines. The five are Bobby Douthit of Lowell; James Hosford of Memphis, Tenn.; Cloris Jean Espinosa Madrid of Rogers; Jeffrey Petty of Beebe; and Latonya Tripp Washington of Forrest City. Douthit was convicted of...

Lawmakers seek Endangered Species Act overhaul \BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Republicans in Congress on Tuesday called for an overhaul to the Endangered Species Act to curtail environmentalists’ lawsuits and give more power to states, but experts say broad changes to one of the nation’s cornerstone environmental laws are unlikely given the pervasive partisan divide in Washington, D.C. A group of 13 GOP lawmakers representing states across the U.S. released a report proposing “targeted reforms” f...

Health care law will mean fewer people on the job WASHINGTON (AP) — Several million American workers will cut back their hours on the job or leave the nation’s workforce entirely because of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, congressional analysts said Tuesday, adding fresh fuel to the political fight over “Obamacare.” The workforce changes would mean nationwide losses equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs by 2021, in large part because people would opt to keep their income low to s...

Senate sends farm bill to Obama WASHINGTON (AP) — The sweeping farm bill that Congress sent to President Obama Tuesday has something for almost everyone, from the nation’s 47 million food stamp recipients to Southern peanut growers, Midwest corn farmers and the maple syrup industry in the Northeast. After years of setbacks, the Senate on Tuesday sent the nearly $100 billion-a-year measure to President Barack Obama. The White House said the president will sign the bill on Fri...

Officials: No limit on halting private optionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Human Services officials say the federal government can’t prevent the state from ending a compromise Medicaid expansion plan that was approved last year and now is at risk of being defunded by the Legislature. DHS officials told lawmakers on Tuesday that there’s no time restriction for the state to end the “private option” that was approved last year as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the federal health c...

Revenue below last year, above forecastLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A delay in federal income tax filing season and lower-than-expected sales tax collections gave Arkansas a mixed bag last month, with revenue coming in below last year’s figures but slightly above expectations, state finance officials said Tuesday. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said the state’s net available revenue in January totaled $483.6 million, which was $32.5 million above January 2013’s figure ...

Darr makes resignation official in letter to state LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Three weeks after saying he’d step down over ethics violations tied to his campaign and office spending, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr made his resignation official on Friday. Darr submitted his resignation letter to Secretary of State Mark Martin, stepping down in the wake of an $11,000 fine he received from the state Ethics Commission. Darr announced on Jan. 10 that would resign but hadn’t submitted a formal letter to Gov. M...

AG rejects wording of marijuana proposalLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has again rejected a proposed ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in Arkansas. McDaniel said in an opinion released Thursday that there are ambiguities in the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted by Marjorie LeClair of Shirley. McDaniel must certify the proposal before supporters can begin gathering the signatures needed to place it on the ballot. The proposal c...

UA to use reserve funds to spike deficit FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — The University of Arkansas says it will use reserve funds and money raised from private sources to wipe out the remainder of a $4.2 million deficit in the fundraising division’s budget. University officials said Thursday the division is in the middle of a major fundraising effort. As the school’s endowment grows, a portion of the money will go to the fundraising division to balance its budget. The division will also repay t...

Lottery panel’s Pickard resigns for new postLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Ben Pickard, one of the original nine members on the Arkansas Lottery Commission, is resigning so he can take a seat on the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Pickard, of Searcy, was named to the panel in 2009 by Gov. Mike Beebe. He served as chairman for a year, spanning 2012-2013. The commission announced his resignation on Thursday. Pickard was vice chancellor of student services at Arkansas State University-Be...